The Kamino Years
by AtinBralor
Summary: An introduction to Kappa Squad Republic Commandos: Varik, Mire, Haar and Faro.
1. The Right Choice - Sergeant Varik

_**AN: These are prequels to the true story with Kappa Squad throughout the war. These are mere tasters of the men - of the characters. The full story will be started towards the end of the year. **_

_**Many thanks to Author376 for taking the time to read my ideas for these lads and for giving valuable input. I hope to do them justice ~ Atin**_

* * *

The Right Choice – Sergeant Varik

It wasn't even time for reveille and Varik was already up.

He'd checked his armour several times over and then headed for the 'freshers with his hygiene kit. At sixteen years old they had just started shaving and it was another thing to add to the morning routine. It irked him that his brothers were still asleep when he was up and about. He was first up and first in bed every night.

He had self-discipline.

He was just finishing brushing his teeth when Mire arrived to join him. The demolition expert was smiling – he was always smiling. It didn't matter what time of day it was, or what had been thrown at them; Mire could always find something to be happy about. Maturity was gradually taking away the explosive excitement that had been there when he was a kid, but he was still very much the light-hearted member of the squad.

"Morning, Var'."

Varik nodded at him and started to run the razor over his spiky growth of hair.

Mire watched him out the corner of his eye, feeling his face with his fingertips to find any missed hair. He was finally getting the knack of not nicking his skin with the razor. Vau had forced them to shave with the fixed blade to teach them how to cope when they only had a knife. Personally, Mire couldn't think of any time when he would be required to shave with no access to his hygiene kit. Surely if he was in the middle of nowhere, there wouldn't be any time or desire to be clean shaven.

"You're doing that wrong?" Varik was watching his squad mate with a critical gaze. They'd been shown how to shave – in probably the only fatherly moment Sergeant Vau had ever shared with them – and Mire wasn't doing it the same way. Things were taught in for a reason and he believed in doing them exactly. Do it right or don't do it at all.

He huffed in frustration at Mire's quirky smile and shrug of the shoulder. He continued with his hair. It had only been a few days since he last shaved it but he liked it to be neat and since they were being put on an assessment exercise today, he felt everything should be perfect.

Mire dried his face on his towel and sidled over towards his Sergeant and held a hand out for the razor. "Shall I do the back for you?" He knew just how pernickety his brother could be.

Varik handed over the razor readily, happy to have it finished to perfection. He met Mire's eyes in the mirror. "Want me to help you clip yours?" Mire didn't keep his hair shaved and it had to have been the better part of a week since he last trimmed it.

The jovial commando grinned and shook his head, focusing on giving a neat, clean shave. "Nah, vod, it's fine for now. I'll do it next week."

Varik practically had to bite his lip to keep his mouth shut. He may be the squad sergeant but there was nothing wrong technically wrong with his brother's hair style. It was just a little longer than what Varik might have liked to see on him. Instead he focused on the morning's task. "You ready for this?"

Mire clapped his brother on the shoulder and flashed another trademark grin. "Of course, Var'. We've got this."

* * *

The assessment had been a gruelling water based task in the cold, choppy Kamino ocean. They were stripped of their bulky armour and sent out in the under suit as an additional test on their stamina. The cold would suck at their resolve, cramping their muscles and making everything seem a thousand times harder.

They had been assigned objects to collect at various locations across the course; heavy weights which added to the exhaustion driven struggle to swim, and after the three klick endurance test they were all frozen and battling to the finish line.

To complete the mission they had to collect the final marker and scale the rappel lines which hung from one of the platforms. It was a cruel way to finish but they were at least fortunate that the platform was one of the lower ones so the climb was a mere fifteen metres to this service level. The final task involved a sprint along the slippery walk ways to reach the flag which would signal the end of the session.

The squads had been running in groups of ten, with a mix of different training Sergeants' men competing together. It wasn't a race, but it always felt like it was to the men who were driven by adrenaline and testosterone at this age. The skills were all present and these final years were the polishing point to bring them up to the highest quality for graduation.

_They were Republic Commandos; they were the best of the best._

Faro and Mire were first up the rappel line, clambering on to the platform at Vau's feet and heading for the flag, thundering along after Sergeant Bralor's Vevut Squad. They weren't going to beat them, but they were damned sure they were going to be second. Many squads were still doggedly swimming towards this final hurdle.

Varik started to make his way up the rappel line, leaving their sniper, Haar, to grab the final weight for their squad. He was halfway up when he heard the cry for help over the pounding waves and howling wind. When he glanced over his shoulder, clinging to the wildly swaying cable, he could see his brother struggling to keep his head above the surface. Without the helmets there was no safety net to protect them should they get sucked under.

He hesitated for a fraction of a second, hearing Sergeant Vau's words booming in his mind. At the time he was undsure of whether these were in his head or bellowed down from the platform, but they had the desired effect; forcing his mind back on task, he continued to clamber hand over hand up the cable.

If he went back they could both drown.

If Haar was okay he would get out and if he wasn't okay, then there was no purpose in them both dying.

_This was to be treated like a true mission. _

_There would be no going back. _

_He could remember all too painfully what had happened to Prudii Squad only a few short months ago when they turned back to rescue RC-3222. Losing three men to save one was not sensible. It was a lesson to them all. _

_Vau's reaction had made it clear to them just what would happen if they acted on sentimentality rather than cold, ruthless sense. RC-3222 had been in bacta for weeks and Varik had caught sight of the injuries in the showers since then. His torso was threaded with ribbons of scars, all from a thrashing with Sergeant Vau's beskad._

He focused on the here and now, dragging himself up over the lip of the platform and beginning to move after his brothers, glancing back over his shoulders in slight reluctance but ultimately he did what was right.

He was aware of Mire and Faro starting to move back towards him, their footsteps stilted as they too fought that internal battle. They'd realised that they were missing the final squad member and the bond drove them to return for him. He caught them both and tried to turn them around.

Faro paced anxiously, halfway along the platform; unwilling to return to the flag but too scared to go back to the edge.

Vau was pacing, looking like he was considering jumping in but it was a blur of purple and gold mandalorian armour which disappeared over the side.

_Wad'e Tay'haii and either Kal Skirata or Mij Gilimar. It was hard to tell them apart from a distance because they both wore sand-gold armour_.

Another Mandalorian in gold armour knelt by Vau's side and helped to haul up the still body on to the durasteel deck. The man pulled his helmet off and instantly began to perform CPR. So that must have been Tay'haai and Skirata who leapt in to the ocean.

Vau was a decent enough combat medic in his own right and had stepped in to assist the doctor.

The stress got too much for Mire and he pushed past Varik to rush back to Haar's side. Wad'e caught his shoulder and held him back while Skirata paced, glaring mutinously at Vau.

There seemed to be a collective gasp of relief when Haar jerked and choked, coughing and retching up a stomach full of ocean brine. He coughed and gasped, laying on his back on the deck, oblivious to the pounding rain all around them.

_It always rained on Kamino._

Every single day, every task – they were all rounded off by pounding rain and storms.

As if on cue the thunder rumbled ominously over them.

They were still fussing around Haar. The sniper looked to be unconscious but he was breathing and that, at least for now, was enough. They just needed to get him to the medbay.

Wad'e and Gilimar lifted him between them and started towards the nearest entrance to get them out of the rain and in to the sterile white safety of Tipoca City.

* * *

It was three hours later when Vau called Varik along to his office.

Varik went with a heavy heart hammering in his throat. He was scared of the beskad that Vau kept on hand for enforcing lessons that he felt had gone amiss.

He accepted the offer to sit but kept his back straight and to attention.

Vau stalked around his desk and perched on the edge, smoothing a fleck of dried salt from his black armour. He obviously hadn't cleaned it since standing in the wind and spray. "What is your assessment of today's test, Sergeant Varik?"

Varik swallowed audibly, forcing himself not to look at the floor. What did he say? It was a disaster because they'd never really finished.

_But he'd done exactly as he'd been taught._

"We didn't complete, sir." He squeezed his fingers together, lacing them tightly enough to be painful. "Sir, is…is Haar…"

Vau sat silently for a moment before standing again and moving to sit behind his desk. "Haar will be fine. He's in bacta."

The deep silence opened between them like a cavern. Varik had no idea what to say and the training Sergeant didn't seem to be in a rush to fill the gap.

He felt like he was about to crack when Vau eventually opened his mouth. It seemed that whatever test he was being given had been passed.

"You did the right thing, Varik. Had you gone back you could have both died and on a mission that would reduce the squad strength by half."

The message was loud and clear.

_You are survivors._

_The mission is key._

_Stay alive._

_Don't get sentimental._

Varik raised his head, trying to resist biting his lip. "Thank you, sir. I understand."


	2. Shosenla - Haar (sniper)

**Shosenla - Haar**

Swimming had never been one of his favourite activities. The older they got, the more effort it required as their dense body mass saw fit to sink them like a stone.

Out in the ocean that comprised much of Kamino's surface, the challenge became significantly greater.

Swimming was hard work. Carrying the weighted blocks made it even harder. They had been so close to the end when his body started to cramp.

_He was dehydrated and exhausted. _

The water started to splash up over his head and he couldn't keep himself above the surface. He called for Varik; first trying to keep calm, then with fear when his brother turned away and continued to climb, leaving him floundering. The weight was pulling him down and the waves knocked him further and further from the rappel line.

If only he could get to that line he could hang on but he was in too much pain – he couldn't swim – he was sinking below the choppy waves and swallowing more water than air as he cried for help and began to panic.

They wouldn't come back for him. Vau didn't allow sentimentality to impinge on their training.

_He was going to drown right here, metres from safety. _

Time seemed to lose all sense of reason. It could have been seconds or hours before he came to on the durasteel decking. Sergeant Gilimar had been bent over him, face inches away from his and it was only later that it dawned on him that he must have been performing rescue breathing.

Everything hurt; his muscles were on fire and he felt overwhelming nausea. Two pairs of hands rolled him over so that he didn't choke on his own vomit. He couldn't make any move to do roll himself. He just slumped bonelessly with his eyes closed against the pounding rain and salty spray.

They carried him inside, moving with haste towards the medbay. He recognised Sergeant Tay'haai by his vibrant purple armour and he felt them both stripping away his soaking clothing and replacing it with dry blankets; cocooning him up so warm that he wanted to go to sleep.

"Don't go to sleep, son."

Rough hands gripped his shoulder and his shook him vigorously. "Stay with us, Haar. I need you to open your eyes for me, ad'ika."

He didn't want to open his eyes. He didn't want to stay awake…he needed to sleep. His whole body was trembling the uncoordinated shakes that he could do nothing to stop.

"He's in shock, Wad'e."

A sharp pain against his neck brought a wave of stim-induced alertness and he blinked owlishly, trying to focus on those around him.

Three Mandalorians; Sergeants Gilimar, Tay'haai, Vau and Skirata. The latter pair where arguing a few steps away from the bed but he couldn't get his mind to focus enough to understand what it was they were shouting about. Skirata may be head and shoulders shorter than Vau…shorter than even Haar was now…but he was tenacious and showed no signs of backing down.

Sergeant Gilimar pressed a sachet of super-sweet, glorious electrolyte syrup to his lips and he swallowed it down hungrily, soon followed by a second and then glass of water through a straw.

Despite the effects of the stim, the whole process was beginning to blur together.

He was rubbed dry with the blankets then wrapped up in fresh ones until he was prepped and immersed in bacta.

* * *

The time in the medbay was comparatively brief considering how close he'd been to death. They had confirmed that he had stopped breathing when they pulled him from the waves. He owed his life to those training Sergeants who went against Vau's own beliefs to rescue a commando who didn't even belong to them.

_Neither man had a responsibility for Haar, but they'd leapt in to rescue him._

Mire and Faro had come to sit with him as soon as he was released from bacta, but Varik had stayed away, making excuses not to come.

On their first day of free training after the incident, Varik had taken them to one of the indoor training pools; determined to improve their water work.

The first symptom that something was wrong was his heart rate building until it was hammering in his throat and he was sure he would be ill. He tried to excuse himself; tried to retreat to safety but Varik was having none of it.

Once in the water the panic didn't recede like he had expected – rather it grew exponentially and he found himself grasping for anything and everything that would keep him safe. He was so mindlessly panicked that he was grasping on to Mire so frantically that he was pulling them both below the water's surface.

Mire was the most patient man a brother could ever wish to know and he was doing his level best to calm Haar's frantic movement's – trying to show him that they were safe.

It should have been a safe environment; the best place for regaining his shattered confidence, but instead it became a torture chamber. Varik would drag him in so often that he began to dread the days set aside for the squad's free training.

It became a time filled with fear although the harsh exposure did eventually help him become good enough to pass the required wet training sessions.

It was only thanks to sheer good luck that their water exercise for the graduation exam happened to be performed in complete armour. He did panic – it was only Mire at his side that prevented him losing all track of the objective – but he couldn't drown with the sealed kit. When he floundered, the armour protected him and he took sanctuary in the safety of this shell.

Unlike the regular troopers who only had training armour, the Republic Commandos were given the tank like Katarn armour early. They had to be able to work in this kit, with the DC-17, right from an early age. As soon as they stopped growing, they were kitted out and they'd held the deece as soon as they were big enough to shoot!

Katarn armour was Haar's safety zone. He couldn't drown. He had half an hour's air supply regardless of how flustered he became in the water, and with this calming his blank terror, he made it through the exam course at eighteen years old.

Of course, they would be on Kamino for a further two years before the war broke, in which time they would fine tune their skills in all areas, but no matter how much he practiced, water work would never be one of Haar's strong points from that dreadful accident forward.

* * *

_Shosenla – Mando'a: underwater_


End file.
